news

Apple unveils new streaming service

/ James Fenney

apple-music

During a conference in San Francisco it was announced Apple Music will launch at the end of the month and will be available on all Apple devices. The system’s unique features include a 24/7 radio station hosted by former Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe, A supposedly more advanced music recommendation system, a social network that allows fans to connect with artists and siri compatibility to allow voice commands. Whilst I think this new service is miles ahead of rival service Tidal, it is still behind Spotify as only Spotify offers an ad-supported free service. Work needs to be done to make sure the new Apple music and it’s features are to the highest standard if it is to live up to it’s subscription fee.

Fearne Cotton leaves BBC Radio 1

/ James Fenney

fearne_cotton

BBC Radio 1 DJ Fearne Cotton has broadcast her final show after ten years at the station. Her mid-morning show, which features the much loved Live Lounge segment, will be taken over by Clara Amfo. Fearne, leaving the station in order to spend more time with her family, received numerous thank you messages from the likes of Dave Grohl, Sam Smith, Ellie Goulding and Ed Sheeran, as well as special dedicated performances from Coldplay, Kodaline and James Bay. It’s seems that Radio 1 is going through a rough patch, losing another presenter after Zane Lowe’s departure in March.

Blues pioneer BB King passes away

/ James Fenney

B.B. King In Concert - San Rafael, CA

Legendary blues guitarist BB King has passed away at age 89 after a recent battle with diabetes related illness. He was one of the first trailblazers of blues music and has outlasted all his contemporaries. Up until recently he would play over 100 shows a year with his signature black Gibson ES 355, nicknamed ‘Lucille’, which in his gifted hands has become one of the most famous guitars in music history. He is second only to Robert Johnson as the greatest and most influential blues musician and has inspired such other great guitarists as Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfler, Joe Walsh, Peter Green and Gary Moore. He was a figurehead for his genre, the last of his generation and he will be sorely missed.

Final Glastonbury headliner announced

/ James Fenney

The Who Plays Brisbane

All bets are off as The Who have been announced as the third and final headline act, along with Foo Fighters and Kanye West. Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend will bring the festival to a close as part of their 50th anniversary tour. Glastonbury is sure to be the highlight of what may be their last major tour.

R&B Legend Ben E King dies

/ James Fenney

ben_e_king

Soul singer Ben E King has passed away at age 76. Starting out as lead singer of the Drifters, he went on to have a prolific solo career that resulted in his biggest and best known hit ‘Stand By Me’. His songs have been covered by the likes of Dusty Springfield, Tom Jones, John Lennon, Shirley Bassey, Otis Redding and Aretha Franklin. He was a great influential pioneer of R&B and will be sorely missed.

Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame 2015

/ James Fenney

rarhof

This years new inductees into Cleveland’s world famous music museum included Ringo Starr, Lou Reed, Joan Jett, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Bill Withers, Green Day, The Paul Butterfield Blues Band and The 5 Royales. The induction ceremony included speeches from Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder, John Mayer, Miley Cyrus, Fall Out Boy, Patti Smith and of course the lucky inductees themselves. Following the ceremony’s tradition, the new members of the hall of fame performed with the stars who had introduced them, before everyone coming together to perform a big all-star jam. This years performance of The Beatles’ ‘ I Want To Be Your Man’ was one of the best of recent years.

New Guitar Hero game announced

/ James Fenney

guitar-hero-live

Guitar Hero, the game that introduced a whole generation to a world of music, has been scheduled for a reboot due for release this Autumn. Guitar Hero Live features a new controller layout and two new game modes. You can either play along to music videos and try to rank up on the online leaderboards or the live action first-person mode, where the ‘real’ crowd and your own band react in real time to your progress. The full setlist has yet to be announced, but it will include songs from The Black Keys, The Rolling Stones, Gary Clark Jr,  The Killers, The War On Drugs, Ed Sheeran, Green Day and more.

Vinyl charts introduced for Record Store Day

/ James Fenney

record-store-day

What with sales of vinyl records reaching their highest point in 20 years, the Official Charts Company have announced the introduction of an official vinyl chart of the top 40 best selling albums and singles. The chart will commence ahead of this year’s annual Record Store Day, which has massively helped the recent revival. Many of this year’s exclusive limited edition releases, including new music from Mumford & Sons and Florence + The Machine, are bound to make an appearance. The second coming of vinyl does present some issues though. With sales having already increased around 70% thus far this year, and set to rise further due to the new charts and Saturday’s Record Store Day, manufacturers are struggling to keep up with the high demand. Hopefully investors will be influenced by the rapid record resurgence to open new production lines.

Tidal streaming service relaunch

/ James Fenney

tidal

The music streaming service Tidal, which was bought out by rapper Jay Z, has been relaunched and rebranded as being owned by the artists. The co-owners of the business, including Beyoncé, Kanye West, Rihanna, Madonna, Daft Punk, Nicki Minaj, Deadmau5, Calvin Harris and Alicia Keys, hosted a conference in New York. Their aim was to create a better platform for music streaming which provided high quality audio and where a greater percentage of the profits go to the artists. Continue reading →